Xu Qianxue: Your Majesty, I'll get you money.

Seeing Wang Yuan hand over the silver again, Pan Feng suddenly burst into laughter. The sound of his laughter sent chills down the spines of everyone around him, making the weather seem much colder.

"You think you can do whatever you want just because you have money?"

"Do you think that someone can get away with it just because someone else took the blame?"

"You think I wouldn't dare touch you?"

Despite Pan Feng's extremely unusual words, Wang Yuan remained standing with his hands behind his back and his pregnant belly sticking out.

It means: You try touching me?

Just as those around thought Pan Feng was about to leave, she suddenly drew her long sword with a clang and held it directly to Wang Yuan's neck, while simultaneously grabbing a token with her left hand and raising it.

"I am Pan Feng, Commander of the Imperial City Guard. Wang Yuan, the head of the Wang family, condoned his wicked servants' attempt to abduct a bride, leading to the wrongful death of the newly appointed scholar Jia Dequan. Today, the Imperial City Guard is confiscating his property and holding him accountable. Anyone who dares to obstruct this is committing treason!"

"The Imperial City Guards will enter in groups of three. Anyone who dares to obstruct them will be executed without mercy. All of them will be escorted to the Ministry of Justice, and their houses will be sealed off! No property is allowed to be touched!"

Wang Yuan was stunned, followed by boundless anger. If Pan Feng hadn't been strong enough, she really wouldn't have been able to hold him down.

"You raided our home without any witnesses or physical evidence! You're framing me! I'm going to report you to the Ministry of Justice!"

But Pan Feng completely ignored him at this point.

In less than the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, all the men, women, servants, and maids of the Prince's mansion were escorted out, and the gate was sealed off.

Seeing that it was about time, Pan Feng waved his hand and led everyone away, heading towards the Ministry of Justice building.

In fact, this place is not far from the Ministry of Justice, just across an alley. Wang Yuan chose this place because he wanted to take advantage of his proximity to the Ministry of Justice officials and build good relationships with them. He has already achieved good results here.

Sure enough, when Pan Feng escorted the Wang family to the gate of the Ministry of Justice, a Ministry of Justice official in green robes ran over.

"You Imperial City Guards can only arrest, not prosecute. The Wang family's case is still unresolved. How can you ransack their home in the street? How will the people view His Majesty?"

After the Ministry of Justice official finished speaking, he put his hands behind his back and raised his head. What he said was reasonable and well-founded; even if the emperor himself came, he would have to be praised for sharing the burden of the army.

Pan Feng completely ignored the head of the Ministry of Justice and led his men directly through the Ministry of Justice's gate, heading straight for the courtroom.

"You brute!"

The official in charge of the Ministry of Justice gave a rebuke and then chased after him.

Xu Qianxue was in charge of the Ministry of Justice, but there was no Vice Minister of Justice yet; the entire Ministry of Justice only had a handful of officials.

When Pan Feng arrived at the main hall with his men, Xu Qianxue was writing a memorial to Liu Mu, requesting that 30% of this year's 500 tribute students be used as supplementary officials.

He frowned, unable to put pen to paper, since the Ministry of Justice was of little use for the time being, as most prefectures and counties were sending prisoners to Heilongjiang or Beihai and Jilin.

When they saw Pan Feng bringing the head of the Wang family.

Xu Qianxue immediately knew that his opportunity had arrived!

A while ago, during a small meeting, the emperor and the six ministers were all troubled by one thing: the national treasury was so empty that rats could run around in it, yet they could barely pay the officials' salaries.

Xu Qianxue was the first to know about Wang Yuan's killing of the tribute student, but there was no one in the Ministry of Justice. It was impossible for a minister to personally arrest a gentryman.

So he waited for the Shuntian Prefecture or the Imperial City Guard to arrest people before he would bleed the Wang family dry. As for exploiting loopholes in the law, that depended on who was sentencing them.

"Pan Feng, who are you escorting?"

"Why not escort them to the Shuntian Prefecture government office first?"

Pan Feng rolled her eyes upon hearing this. A while ago, she had been hinting to herself every day that she should cause trouble for those wealthy people, but now she was just putting on an act.

Civil officials are truly despicable, bah!

Just as Pan Feng was about to put on her act, the sixth-rank official from the Ministry of Justice stepped forward first.

"Your Excellency, this Master Wang was known for his philanthropy in Taiyuan. After moving to the capital, he took the lead in donating money to repair the Yongding River. This time, it was all caused by his wicked servants!"

After the official from the Ministry of Justice finished speaking, he lowered his head, but a hint of smugness was hidden in his expression.

Anyway, I spoke up for him because Master Wang is kind and virtuous. Even if Wang Yuan is ultimately guilty and sentenced, it's because he's two-faced and he was deceived.

But today was the day Xu Qianxue was making money, and the official in charge of the Ministry of Justice had really messed up. With a loud bang, Xu Qianxue slammed his hand on the desk.

"Forcing a tribute student to his death is tantamount to murdering an official and plotting a rebellion. This is a serious matter that would punish nine generations of a family. How could a mere wicked servant dare to do such a thing? It seems that you, as the head of the Ministry of Justice, are also guilty of failing to investigate."

"Remove his official hat and take him away for interrogation!"

The official in charge of the Ministry of Justice felt as if struck by lightning. He collapsed to the ground, pale-faced, and before he could even cry out for justice, he was dragged away by two bailiffs.

Wang Yuan's face turned ashen upon seeing this. He knew he had no way out; bribing the head of the Ministry of Justice was a capital offense. He also knew what Pan Feng was laughing about.

Compared to the empire's top power, what is his wealth? Not everyone loves money; those at the very top love power, knowing that power is everything.

Seeing that Wang Yuan had lost his spirit, Xu Qianxue knew that he had confessed his crimes and accepted punishment, so he looked at Wang Yuan with a smile.

"The crime of murdering officials, whether in the Ming or the Qing dynasties, would result in the confiscation of property and the extermination of the entire clan. However, the current emperor is benevolent and can offer your virtuous families a chance to atone for your crimes through meritorious service. I wonder if you are willing?"

Upon hearing the word "atone for his crimes through meritorious service," Wang Yuan's face regained some color, and he kowtowed to Xu Qianxue.

"I'm willing, I'm willing!"

Upon hearing Wang Yuan's words, Xu Qianxue knew that everything was in the bag. His expression became even more amiable.

"Our Great Han has already established Jilin Province in Beihai. As long as you offer all your family's wealth to His Majesty, your family of dozens will be able to live more comfortably on the border!"

"Of course, this isn't exile, but rather the relocation of all your household registrations to Jilin. With the Wang family's abilities, making a comeback won't be difficult!"

Wang Yuan wasn't stupid; he knew this meant exile. But now the Wang family was the prey, and the Ministry of Justice was the blade. Only by obeying could he have a chance of survival, so he kowtowed again.

"My land in Taiyuan, plus the grain shop in Datong, Shanxi, can be exchanged for 230,000 taels of silver. In addition, the silver in my cellar can be used to offer Your Majesty 330,000 taels of silver."

Three hundred thousand taels of silver, that's quite a lot!

These Shanxi merchants are really rich.

It's also because His Majesty cares about his reputation. If he were to send troops to confiscate their property, wouldn't he become rich? In any case, in just a few decades, three dynasties have changed hands, and their network of connections has been broken.

However, when it comes to robbing people in a civilized manner, the Ministry of Justice has plenty of ways to do it.

Thinking of this, Xu Qianxue waved his hand.

"Alright, your Wang family is a family that has accumulated good deeds, so from now on you can go to Jilin Province and live a good life!"

"But this money..."

Upon hearing this, Wang Yuan immediately answered.

"The entire sum of money will be delivered within three days."

"This humble citizen will never keep anything to myself!"

"You'll never be able to return to the Central Plains in this lifetime. What's the use of hiding in the ground?" Xu Qianxue wasn't worried at all.

"Go ahead, I trust you!"